Furnace



(N o Model.)

F. W. INGRAM & B. E. CARR.

FURNAGE. j

No. 540,669. Patented June 11, 18 95.

@Nrrnn I STATES PATENT omce.

FRANKLIN W. INGRAM AND ELMER E. CARE, OF CHICAGOfILLINO I S.

.FURNACE.

SPECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 540,669, dated June 11,1895.

' Application filed March 1,6, 1 894. Serial No. $3,899. (No model.)

To all wijwm, it mayvconcern:

Be i'tknown that we, FRANKLIN W. INGRAM and ELMER E. CARR, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have inventedcertain newand useful Improvements inFurnaces; and we do'declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference markedthereon, whichform a part of this specification. w

Our invention relates to self feeding furnaces. Its objects are, toprovide for the delivery of the fuel to the forward end of the grate bydropping it thereon in small quanti' ties so that combustion may bemaintained to the extreme front of the grate; to provide for closejoints in connection with the movable parts of the stoker so as toprevent leakage when fine fuel is used; to provide for the regulation ofthe fuel feed; and to provide for the convenient use of the ordinaryhand feeding doors in connection with mechanical feed apparatus. f

The invention consists in the location of the fuel magazine above theusual firing doors; the use of an inclined delivery plate below themouth of the hopper, over which the pusher is adapted to reciprocate;asupplemental bar connected with the pusher for closing the jointbetweenit and the plate over which it moves; special mechanical connectionbetween the pusher and the source of power; a vertically movable platefor preventing leakage of fuel at the front of the grate ;*and suchother parts and arrangement of parts as are hereinafter disclosed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion ofthe face-plate of a furnace with our-automatic stoker attached. Fig. 2is a sectional View on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5 aredetailsof the mechanism, Fig. 4 being a sectional view on the line 4 4of Fig. 3, and" Fig. 5 being a sectional view on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1.

At A, isshownthe fire-box; at B, the front wall of the furnace; at O,the arch of the fire-box, and at R, the grate, which is of the formshown in our Patent of the United States, dated the 4thday r April, A.D. 1 93,

An aperture, D, is provided in the front wall, B, for the delivery ofthe fuel to the fire-box by the automatic stoking device, the fuel beingdischarged from a dead plate, d, which as shown,forms the roof of a handfeeding aperture, D, ordinarily found in furnaces and closedby the door,a, and, having the usual dead plate, 01'.

The fuel magazine, or hopper, is located across the front of thefurnace, as shown at,

E, and is substantially.triangular, in cross section, the face plate, b,of the furnace servingas its back wall, its front wall, e, beinginclined forwardly and terminating, approximately upon a level with thetop of the aperture, D, so as to leave an opening between its lower edgeand the face plate, I), for the delivery of the fuel. The ends, 6', e,of the hopper, are provided at their inner edges with flanges wherebythey may be bolted to the facei plate,,b, and at their outer edges withparallel ribs, c forming a groove for the reception of the ends of thefront plate, e. The two ends, 6, e, of the hopper, aredrawn together bymeans of the bolts, or rods, F.

An inclined delivery plate, G, is located across and below the mouth ofthe hopper,E, its inclination being the same as that of the front plate,8, of the hopper, and its lower edgebearing snugly against the front ofthe furnace and upon a level with thedead plate, d. The plate, G, issupported by the bracks l ,A pusher, H, having a vertical face plate,rests upon the plate, G, and is adapted to play across themouth ofthehopper, E, so as to crowd the fuel which falls uponfthe plate, G,

from'the hopper, over the dead plate, d. An upwardly inclined plate, h,extends backwardly from the top of the vertical plate of the pusher, H,under the front plate 6, of the hopper, its inclination being the sameas the latter plate. The office of the plate, 71, is to prevent fuelfalling behind the pusher, 'H, as the latter advances. Fingers, i, 'i,extend downwardly from one of the rods, F, beneath the plate, It, sothat it may rest upon them.

The pusher, H, is provided with backwardly extending flanges, h, of anydesired number, which flanges are vertically recessed for the receptionof a bar, K, of the same length as the pusher, II, and which fitsloosely within these recesses so as to ride upon the delivery plate, G,and close the joint between this plate and the pusher so as to whollyprevent the leakage of fuel.

The pusher, H, is actuated by means of a rock shaft M, journaled in thebrackets, L, and also, if desired, in the end plates, 6, of the hopper,and connected with the pusher by means of a crank arm, m, and a link, m,running from the end of the crank arm to 2. lug on the central flange h.Power is transmitted to the rock shaft, M, from a rock shaft, 0,journaled in brackets, 0, secured to the face plate, I), below thedoors, a. The connection between the rock shafts, M, O, is by means of alink bar, or pitman,P, connecting crank arms, 19, upon the shaft, M,andp', upon the shaft, 0. The means of applying power to the rock shaft,0, are not shown and may consist of any of'the well known appliances forthat purpose. The rock shaft, 0, also actuates the rocking grate, R, aconnecting rod, q, leading from a crank arm, Q, carried by the shaft, 0,to the rocking bar, 0'', of the grate.

"When it is desired to feed a maximum quantity of fuel the pusher, H, iscaused to reciprocate from the lower edge of the plate, c, forwardly. Toreduce the quantity of fuel fed to the furnace, the pusher, II, iscaused to recede beyond the lower edge of the plate, e, and to advancebut a portion of the way across the mouth of the hopper, the pushertraveling through the same distancein either event. This change of feedis accomplished in the following manner, without changing the movementof the grate bars: The crank arm, 29, is radially adjustable withreference to the shaft, 0, being mounted thereon by means of .a collar,or band, T, from which hand there projects also a hand lever, S,carrying a pawl, 3, adapted to engage a segmental rack, Q. Forconvenience, We prefer to form the rack, Q, integral with the crank arm,Q, and to mount the band,T, upon a hub, t, of this crank arm, which isrigidly fixed to the shaft, 0, by means of a key, q. The band, T, isheldinits place upon the hub, t, by means of a collar, U, of greaterexternal diameter than thehub,t, and which is secured to the shaft, 0,by means of a set screw, a.

By releasing the pawl, s, from engagement with the rack, Q, the angularposition of the crank arm, upon the shaft, 0, may be changed withoutdisturbing that of the crank arm, Q.

A stop plate, or bar, 0, is adjusted loosely between flanges, v, 1;,depending from the bed plate, 01', and riding upon the first leaves ofthe grate, R, thereby preventing the leakage of fuel over the front endof the grate.

\Ve do not desire to be limited to the pre cise mechanism for varyingthe fuel feed as minor changes may be made in the operating mechanismwithout departing from the scope of the invention.

By means of the construction herein shown and described, we are able tosecure a delivery of the coal to the grates in such manner that finebituminous coal may be used without danger of having it become impactedat thefront of the grates, and thereby greatly reducing the availablegrate area. VJe also secure the very decided advantage of being able tofeed the furnace by hand while the fire is being kindled and during anyperiod at which it may be found desirable to stop the action of themechanical stoker, the pusher itself providing means for closing thefeed opening at the mouth of the hopper, and thereby cutting olf thelarge induction of air which would otherwise destroy the draft of thefurnace.

\Ve claim as our invention- 1. In a self feeding furnace, the combination with an inclined oscillating grate, of a fuel magazine, a furnacewall having a feed opening at the mouth of the magazine, and a deadplate forming the floor of the feed opening, its inner or delivery edgebeing directly over and at such elevation above the grates that the fuelis precipitated from the plate directly upon the grates, whereby theimpacting of the fuel at the front of the grate is prevented.

2, In a self feeding furnace, the combination with an inclinedoscillating grate, of a fuel magazine, a furnace wall having a feedopening at the mouth of the magazine, adead plate forming the floor ofthe feed opening, its inner or delivery edge being directly over and atsuch elevation above the grates that the fuel is precipitated from theplate directly upon the grates, whereby the impacting of the fuel at thefront of the grateis prevented, and an opening for hand feeding betweenthe grates and the dead plate of the opening at the mouth of themagazine.

3. In a self feeding furnace having a fuel hopper, or magazine, areciprocating pusher for forcing the fuel into the combustion chamber,an oscillating grate and a power actuated rock shaft for transmittingmotion to the pusher and to the grate, a crank-arm fixed to the shaftand adapted to actuate the grate, and a crank arm carried by the shaftfor actu ating the pusher and adapted to be adjusted in angular positionrelatively to the fixed crank-arm whereby the travel of the pusher maybe changed and the fuel feed varied without changing the grate action,substantially .as described and for the purpose specified.

IOC

the leakage of f uel is prevented, substantially as described and forthe'purpose specified.

5. In a self feeding furnace the combina by the air supply through thehopper feedopening is restricted while the furnace is fed by hand.

In testimony whereof We affix our signa- I5 tures in presence of twowitnesses.

FRANKLIN W. INGRAM. ELMER E. CARR.

Witnesses:

LOUIS K. GILLsoN, M. H. L. WING.

